Drill Sergeant Marcos Madrazo

Two drill sergeants talk proudly of their crucial role in instilling pride, confidence, patriotism and mental/physical toughness in new batches of Army recruits. The Army and Soldier creed is displayed as an important part of Basic Training...

U.S. Army Parachute Team / Professional Base Jumper

Drill Sergeant Marcos Madrazo

Two drill sergeants talk proudly of their crucial role in instilling pride, confidence, patriotism and mental/physical toughness in new batches of Army recruits. The Army and Soldier creed is displayed as an important part of Basic Training...

I volunteered to be a drill sergeant because when I went through training I seen my drill sergeants, I seen how professional they were and I just wanted to be that. I wanted to be a drill sergeant. That's all I wanted to be, it's a military dream come true.

The general public, or the new recruit that comes to a drill sergeant maybe seen a movie or two and they think that a drill sergeant does nothing but yell and things like that, that's probably the biggest misconception and the drill sergeant's role is not that. The drill sergeant's role is to take a civilian and to transform them into a professional Soldier.

I help Soldiers getting through basic training by giving them the tools that they need, the physical training, the leadership skills, the teamwork, team-building exercises, that's how I help Soldiers get through basic training.

It's not gonna be easy, times are gonna get tough, you're gonna miss home, but just don't quit. Your drill sergeants are not going to quit on you, so just don't quit on them.